Fun Elopteryx Facts For Kids

 The Elopteryx, also referred to as Elopteryx nopcsai, inhabited present-day Europe and fossil material was found in Romania. It is considered to be troodontid from the Late Cretaceous time period. Not a lot is known about the habitat of these dinosaurs, but it is believed that they used to live in marshes or similar habitats. Reproduction happened sexually and the female used to lay eggs after the male deposited sperm inside the female body. This process was common among dinosaurs.

There is not much information about the physical appearance of this theropod as the fossils that have been found are incomplete and fragmentary. The holotype consisted of a femur bone. Elopteryx size is estimated to be around 3 ft (100 cm). Franz Nopcsa von Felso Szilvas, a Hungarian palaeontologist found the fossil material near Sinpetru in the present-day Romanian area of Transylvania. The generic name of the type species, Elopteryx nopcsai is derived from two Ancient Greek words meaning 'marsh wings', and the specific name was kept in honor of Nopcsa.

There are a lot of similarities found between the Bradycneme and Elopteryx and a lot of specimen material that was referred to as Elopteryx was later reassigned to Bradycneme. Another specimen or bird remains whose exact location and time of discovery are unknown had fossils dated to the Late Maastrichtian age and were initially referred to as Elopteryx but later reassigned and considered to be of a pelecaniform seabird by Charles William Andrews as history states. This dinosaur is known to have existed from the Campanian age to 66 million years ago.

It is quite interesting to explore and learn about this Extinct theropod species and if you like reading about dinosaurs, check out our articles on the Epanterias and Haplocheirus.

How do you pronounce 'Elopteryx'?

Elopteryx is pronounced as 'ee-lop-ter-iks'.

What type of dinosaur was an Elopteryx?

The Elopteryx was considered to be a maniraptoran theropod.

In which geological period did Elopteryx roam the earth?

This dinosaur is known to have lived in the Late Cretaceous period.

When did the Elopteryx become Extinct?

The time period of extinction of the Elopteryx nopcsai is not known.

Where did Elopteryx live?

This dinosaur used to live in present-day Europe and its fossils were found in Romania.

What was the Elopteryx's habitat?

The habitat of these theropods was considered to be marshy habitats.

Who did the Elopteryx live with?

It is unknown if the Elopteryx was a solitary animal or whether it lived in groups.

How long did an Elopteryx live?

It is known to have existed from the Campanian age to 66 million years ago.

How did they reproduce?

Reproduction of the Elopteryx happened sexually and females used to lay eggs after the males deposited sperm inside their bodies. This process was common among all dinosaurs.

What did the Elopteryx look like?

Not a lot of information is available about the physical appearance of the Elopteryx nopcsai as only incomplete fossil remains have been found. It is quite difficult to understand its features. However, it is believed these dinosaurs were 3 ft (100 cm) tall and that it looked similar to a Bradycneme. A Bradycneme had long legs, short arms, a long tail, and a curved nose.

How many bones did an Elopteryx have?

The exact number of bones that the Elopteryx nopcsai had is not known. The first bone to be discovered was the femur.

How did they communicate?

Communication of dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous time period took place through visual and vocal cues, including various sounds, postures, and gestures.

How big was the Elopteryx?

The estimated size of dinosaur is around 3 ft (100 cm).

How fast could an Elopteryx move?

The exact moving speed of this dinosaur that existed around 66 million years ago is not known.

How much did an Elopteryx weigh?

The evaluated weight of the Elopteryx dinosaur was around 44 lb (20 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

Male and female theropods did not have any particular names.

What would you call a baby Elopteryx?

A baby Elopteryx was referred to as a hatchling.

What did they eat?

No information is available about the types of food these theropods ate, but the diet is suspected to have to carnivorous. This means that these dinosaurs ate other animals, dinosaurs, and insects.

How aggressive were they?

Dinosaurs in general were aggressive animals, but to determine the exact aggressiveness of this species is quite difficult.

Did you know...

It is believed that Franz Nopcsa von Felso Szilvas, a Hungarian palaeontologist found the fossil remains near Sinpetru in the present-day Romanian area of Transylvania. These fossil remains were then obtained by the British Museum of Natural History.

The type species, Elopteryx nopcsai, was named in 1913 by a curator named Charles William Andrews. The holotype of Elopteryx nopcsai only consisted of a proximal left femur bone.

The genus name originated from Ancient Greek words, 'helos' meaning 'marsh' and 'pteryx' meaning 'wing'.

A lot of specimens have been assigned to this genus, but then later reassigned to other genera. A lot of specimens that were initially considered to be of the Elopteryx were later assigned to Bradycneme because the Bradycneme and the Elopteryx were considered to be quite similar.

In 2005, Kessler recombined all the material of an Elopteryx and it was considered an alvarezsaurid.

This theropod is considered to be bird-like, but no relation to modern-day birds has been found.

It is considered to be a troodontid and this theropod has been shown in the second episode of Dinosaur Planet.

A right distal femur (FGGUB R 351) was referred to as the Elopteryx by Dan Grigorescu and Eugen Kessler who also stated the Elopteryx as a non-avian Coelusaurian dinosaur, eventually, the femur bone was assigned to a hadrosaurid.

Another specimen or bird remains whose exact location and time of discovery are unknown with fossils dating back to the Late Maastrichtian age were initially labeled as the Elopteryx. They were later reassigned because they were considered to be from a pelecaniform seabird according to Charles William Andrews.

Why are they called Elopteryx?

The type species, Elopteryx nopcsai was named by Charles William Andrews. The genus name Elopteryx is derived from the Ancient Greek words, 'helos' meaning 'marsh' and 'pteryx' meaning 'wing'. The specific name is kept in honor of Nopcsa. The genus name was given as it is believed that this dinosaur inhabited marshy habitats.

How many specimens of Elopteryx were discovered?

It is believed that two specimens of the Elopteryx have so far been found.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Graciliraptor facts, or Condorraptor facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Elopteryx coloring pages.

Main image: KoS

*We've been unable to source an image of Elopteryx and have used an image of Unenlagia instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Elopteryx, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected].